Todd Porter: Stark County invested in high school football

On Saturday, with No. 1 Ohio State playing at Penn State and Game 3 of the World Series, what game had the most interest in one of Stark County’s most populous areas?

Todd Porter

On Saturday, with No. 1 Ohio State playing at Penn State and Game 3 of the World Series, what game had the most interest in one of Stark County’s most populous areas?

Lorain Admiral King vs. Southview.

Yes. Winless Southview against Admiral King captivated Plain Township and GlenOak High School football fans’ interest Saturday.

Admiral King beat Southview, knocking Fremont Ross out of the playoffs and keeping GlenOak (6-4) in. Because of a Week 5 win over the Saints, Fremont Ross would have jumped over GlenOak into the eighth — and final — playoff spot in Division I, Region 2 had Southview won.

So GlenOak’s postseason hopes came down to two teams with now six wins between them.

“Yeah, it is kind of weird how that played out, but we put ourselves in that position with a couple of losses early on,” GlenOak coach Scott Garcia said. “Hopefully, (Southview) makes it 31 games in a row.”

GlenOak sent a couple of scouts to the Southview-Admiral King just to phone back scoring updates. The Golden Eagles are one of two 6-4 teams to squeak into the postseason in Region 2. Toledo St. John’s is the other.

By finishing eighth, GlenOak gets to play at Brunswick (10-0) next week. The Blue Devils have had just two relatively close games all season in wins over Normandy (42-34) and Solon (14-10). Both teams scored early-season victories against Massillon.

Here is what you have to like about GlenOak: The Golden Eagles know who they are, and Garcia embraced that personality his first day on the job. GlenOak is a more physical team than it has been in the past.

Now playing that way and having the ability to do something aren’t the same. There were a couple of losses this season that Garcia readily admits his team lost in the preseason. In other words, they lost them in the weight room.

“Something that’s been lacking at GlenOak in the past is the kids weren’t committed to the weight room,” Garcia said. “We have to establish that. You win games in January through April. The kids work hard in the summer and in practice, but we have to understand it takes a full year of development in the weight room to get to the point of playing a Lake or a Boardman, and you’re going against guys who bench-press 300 pounds.”

A thorough offseason program will go a long way toward improving the ability to play hard-nosed football next season. The Golden Eagles started five sophomores on defense and two on offense in Friday’s win over Perry. In all, nine of 11 defensive starters are underclassmen, and four of 11 on offense are.

“We told our kids all week long that we’re going to go back out and play GlenOak football, come off the ball and run the off-tackle play,” Garcia said. “We want to be a hard-nosed team.”

They did it on a sloppy field against a Perry defense that often had nine and 10 defenders in the box. They did it against a Perry team that needed a win to get in the postseason.

GlenOak may not be a match for Brunswick, but the Golden Eagles are going to continue to make strides and be among Stark County’s best programs, even during seasons when Massillon and McKinley have the kind of season they’re accustomed to.

Stadium is key

Anyone still think the importance of GlenOak having its own stadium located next to the new high school is a nonfactor? Here is another example of how the Plain Township community is coming together.

The cosmetology class at GlenOak High held a hair-a-thon Saturday and donated all the money to a stadium fundraiser. It’s another example of how a school organization that has no direct connection to the football program is helping.

Eagles O-line tough

GlenOak running back Anthony Smith wouldn’t have 1,274 rushing yards, including 209 against Perry, if not for his offensive line. So take a bow Joe Monnot, Jeffrey Hamilton, Nicholas Drescher, Adam Jasionowski, Aaron Williams, Eric Ortman and Thomas Helmick.

Sammies for all

A few weeks back, we predicted — even put a ham-and-cheese sandwich on the line — that Massillon and McKinley would still mean something in the postseason.

Well, we were wrong. But here’s the thing: No one bothered to take the offer. Ham and cheese stays in the fridge.

Massillon’s down year

When the county’s two powerhouses have down years, it’s interesting to watch how they scrap and scratch for wins. What led to both teams entering Saturday’s annual game with disappointing records?

McKinley lacked experience. Usually with a lack of experience comes a lack of ability to a degree. The Bulldogs will build off this season and be back next year, providing the program stays together and coach Brian Cross returns. In Canton, this was the kind of year that is chalked up to the experience/talent cycle.

Massillon is a different story. The Tigers didn’t lack talent, but they did lack balanced talent. It’s not enough to have an abundance of running backs but struggle throwing the ball. What really hurt Massillon more than anything was leadership.

Head Coach Tom Stacy harped on it in the preseason. He was concerned about a general lack of interest in offseason workouts.

When the season started and Massillon had 12 captains rather than two or three, it was an indication that leadership lacked. The old coaching cliché is if you have two quarterbacks you have none. Well, if you have 12 captains you really have none.

“I’ll tell you what, honestly, we had a couple of seniors who stepped up,” Stacy said. “Brandyn Grizzard, K.J. Herring and Steve Yoder stepped up. They spoke up and talked.”

When leaders talk, though, everyone else has to listen.

Pryor bypasses big game

Terrelle Pryor, the top high school football recruit in the county out of Jeannette (Pa.) High School, had the attention of Ohio State this weekend. Pryor, who wants to play both quarterback and basketball in college, saw Jim Tressel and Thad Matta at Jeannette’s win Friday night.

Pryor is considering OSU, Penn State, West Virginia, Florida, Texas and Tennessee. But Pryor didn’t attend the Ohio State-Penn State game Saturday night because he didn’t want to be disrespectful to either school. As a guest of Penn State, it would have looked like the Nittany Lions were ahead of the Buckeyes. And if he had shown allegiance to

OSU, well, that would’ve looked awful, too.

Browns good?

The Browns are 3-3 and exactly where they should be, except for a game in Oakland in which they played awful but could have won if a last-second field goal hadn’t been blocked. If the team really has turned a corner, it will take care of St. Louis today on the road. The Rams are winless and among the worst teams in the NFL.

Cleveland is coming off a bye, and the Browns haven’t exactly been world-, or third-world, beaters coming off a bye week. But give the team credit for righting the ship after opening the season with an ugly loss to Pittsburgh.

“I’m probably most pleased with the way the team responded quite well after the first game against the Steelers, which was a bad performance by all accounts,” General Manager Phil Savage said. “But it didn’t seem to keep us down. ... I give Romeo (Crennel) and the coaching staff a lot of credit for that. I think they’ve steered the ship in a way that has kept things on an even keel, win or lose.”

Local NFL players

Mike Doss (McKinley) is playing for the Minnesota Vikings but is listed as the backup strong safety behind veteran Darren Sharper. Dustin Fox (GlenOak) is on Buffalo’s practice squad. Denver released Kenny Peterson a week after he returned from a four-game suspension for violating the league’s steroid policy. Tyler Everett is still on the Vikings practice squad. Andy Alleman (Massillon) is the backup left guard in New Orleans.